Ethan's head pounded like a chaotic drum, the remnants of a night spent in mild revelry. He tried hard to drink like a responsible adult, but each sip from the Amontillado hit harder. The drink in of itself is an existence of irony— coupled with the gentleness of a woman's touch and the brutality of a long term relationship break-up.
The Guild Hall was filled with the usual chatter of adventurers. The faint scent of mead assailed his senses. The usual banters, quarrels over how someone cheated on a dice game, conplaints about delayed food orders, the old lady in the corner fortunetelling, and that young lad who always seem to be looking for female party members. At his point in Ethan's adventure, the guild almost felt gave the comfort of a familiar home in an otherwise strange land.
He opened his eyes slowly, squinting against the harsh light streaming through the guilds' tainted glass panels. An image of a writer penning characters, creatures of all shapes and sizes, as well as what can be surmised as significant events are placed aesthetically– like a picture book themed around this world's creation myth.
He must be the Author Parallax has been droning on and on about. Why... did you have to put it all on me?
"Perhaps I'll just—" He muttered, trailing off as he felt a tap on his shoulder.
Looking over his shoulder, Ethan's hazy vision cleared just enough to reveal a woman standing beside him—tall, with long auburn hair which draped over her flawless shoulders, she wore leather armor that looked as stylish as it is functional. It had a lot of pockets and looked comfortable.
She had a smile that seemed as confident as it was dangerous. Radiating a kind of wild energy that he'd heard whispers of... something far from the usual student assistant he used to know.
"Ash–?" he croaked, his voice still spinning with the remnants of hangover.
"Yep," she said, a grin tugging at the corners of her lips as she took a seat across from him.
"You sucked at drinking, why start now? Your face is as red as a reindeers' nose, you should get a commission to drive a flying sleigh," Ashley jests.
"You might've changed your outfit and your hair color yet you still nag at me in the morning" Ethan groaned, rubbing his temples.
"I have grown a lot this past three days, I'd say we should take Parallax out," she teased, crossing her arms casually on the table.
"I don't know 'bout you, but I'm not in the mood to go brawling against a giant eyeball so early in the morning."
"We should order something then. My treat. You owe me stories of your adventures these past three days."
Ethan tried to focus but to no avail. "Not much happened on my end, I'm just trying to rank up. I'm almost Bronze III now" he muttered.
"Well, whaddaya know? I'm Bronze III, baby!" Ashley retorts proudly. "Getting to Silver rank is the tough part. We need to take the rank up exam."
"What's with the hair and the tone?'
"Oh it's a unique perk that seems to only apply to me- when one of my spells go haywire, my body goes through, how do I say this... Drastic, no, wild changes. The hair and the accent is just a minor inconvenience. I'm still trying to tame the chaos," a part of Ashley's status screen appeared in front of Ethan giving him a glimpse of what the fuss was about,
[ Abnormal Status: WILD (Permanent) ]
"I've suffered far more surprises." Ashley smirked, her eyes scanning the bustling hall as she leaned back in her chair. Ethan had heard of her exploits, of course—everyone had.
The rumors were abundant. Ethan had heard about the wild rose before, he just didn't know they were referring to Ashley; and once again, he is hearing the rumors now. Rumors of her deeds, each one more extraordinary than the last. But getting to talk to her again, it felt... normal.
As he struggled to recalibrate his balance, Ashley ordered a full course meal for the three of them; Ethan's vision may have dulled but his hearing is somehow intensified. He closed his eyes to focus on his hearing a little bit more.
[ Name: Ethan Erstellen ]
[ Macro Skill: Listening (Advanced) ]
He was able to listen to snippets of conversations from the other adventurers' tables:
"Did you hear? She actually brawled a frost giant and won. I heard she punched it into submission."
"Wild Rose? I heard she survived the Mad Hatters' Tea Party. The one where the guests go mad and—"
"—She caught Needle Dee and Needle Dum? No way. Those two are serial killers! She must've raked in a lot of gold for their bounty"
"They say she turned into a giant herself, right? Something about the Wild Rose blooming or some nonsense."
The more they talked, the more Ashley seemed to embody every wild tale, every impossible feat. Ethan couldn't help but feel both awe and a hint of suspicion. Was she really the same timid girl he used to know? Or was it all just another exaggerated rumor? Either way, the reputation followed her like a shadow.
Noticing Ethan's expression, Ashley chuckled at his furrowed brow. "I see that you're making good use of your macro skill, you don't need to close your eyes to focus."
A slight worry painted accross Ashley's face, "Don't believe everything you hear, Professor. Most of those rumors are exaggerated... or made up entirely."
Her accent returning to normal as her auburn hair started to turn dark once more.
Ethan gave a dry laugh. "Frost giants and outlaws. But—" He hesitated, rubbing his chin. "Well, I could use a hint or two. My growth over this past few days has been nothing but disaster."
Before Ethan could share his experience further, the guild's main doors flung open violently. All the rumors has been silent as the unwanted guest stole the attention of the onlookers. A burly man in a black and white suit spoke in a demanding tone,
"I am a member of the Ivory League. My informants told me that the wild rose is within the vicinity, I'm rewarding 10 gold to whoever hands her to me!"
"Pipe down will ya? Can't you see I'm dining with my professor? You can leave the gold as an apology," Ashley responds, clearly having no intentions of backing down.
"You dare show your face after taking my penguin?!"
Ashley playfully denies the allegations.
Due to the alarming situation, Ethan begun to regain his bearings. In the corner of his peripherals he noticed a flipper snatching a fish from one of plates served on their table. He craned his neck to take a peak at the curious figure and lo and behold, he was surprised to see a cuddly flightless bird. An emperor penguin about a year old.
The penguin blinked at Ethan with its tiny, beady eyes, clearly unaware of the chaos its mere existence was causing.
"Pi-che?"
He didn't know how Ashley had come into possession of it, but there it was, sitting at the foot of the dining table, a curious little bundle of joy that had no business being so... endearing.
"Uhm... Ashley..." Ethan muttered.
Ashley shook her head with a smile, almost fondly. "This little guy," she casually pats its head as the penguin clumsily climbed on her shoulder "...is special. There's something... different about it. I'm sure it'll lead us to something bigger. You know, like how legends usually go?"
"Enough talk," the burly man sounded imposing as his lackeys surround them both. "You're clearly outnumbered Wild Rose, one more party member ain't gonna make a difference."
Ashley stared at him for a moment, then laughed softly. "You're persistent, I'll give you that."
"Our organization does not take kindly on bastards who meddle with our business, why don't you just give the penguin and you can continue your date with your lousy boyfriend here, and we'll pretend this conversation never happened?"
"B-Boyfriend? Does it look that way?" Ashley nervously replied.
The burly man smashes a chair. "So what's it gonna be? I'm losing my patience!"
"Hey!" This caused Mi Hye's brows to slightly furrow. "I'm writing that on your tab you insolent bafflon!"
The penguin climbed on top of Ashley's head, clumsily stood up and begun chirping.
"Pi-Pi, Pi-che! Pi-Pi-che! Pi-che!"
"You've triggered my flight or fight response, too bad I'm a flightless bird!" Ashley translated.
"You can understand it? Are you a princess irl?" before Ethan could come up with more banter, the burly man splits a table in half with his giant axe.
That would be... 9 gold, Mr. Burly man– Mi Hye jots down on a receipt.
The burly man and his cronies brandished their weapons itching for a fight. After doing a mild stretch, Ethan decided to join the fight as well, he has a confident grin as he said "Shall we go for a test drive?"
Chaos ensues...